Emergency gangway for railroad cars

ABSTRACT

An emergency gangway particularly adaptable for railroad cars, wherein a compartment door within the railroad car includes detachable hinges so that the door can be removed and used as an emergency gangway exit by raising folded railings which are recessed within the door panel. The gangway is erected between adjacent railroad cars, or between a railroad car and a catwalk, so that passengers may easily exit from the railroad car during breakdown conditions.

ilnited States Patent Ulsen 1 May 30, 1972 [54] EMERGENCY GANGWAY FOR 984,063 2/1911 Berg 182/1 13 RAILROAD CARS 3,046,850 7/1962 Tellefson l4/72 3,072,215 I 1963 Rush ..182 ll] Inventor: Martin F- Olsen, Ave., 3 Jaecke Bronx NY. 10463 i.

[22] Fil d; M 15, 1971 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado [2]] A I N 124 086 Attorney-Allison C. Collard [57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl "182/20 182/1 13, l82l/Z/2722, An emergency gangway particularly adaptable for railroad cars, wherein a compartment door within the railroad car in- "Egg cludes detachable hinges so that the door can be removed and e o arc used as an emergency gangway exit by raising folded railings which are recessed within the door panel. The gangway is [56] Reterences cued erected between adjacent railroad cars, or between a railroad UNITED STATES PATENTS car and a catwalk, so that passengers may easily exit from the 337 281 3/1886 P 14/72 railroad car during breakdown conditions.

atrn 854,253 5/1907 Stoops ..l82/1 l3 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Patented May 30, 1972 3,666,045

5 Sheets-Speet 1 NVENTOR. MARTIN F. OLSEN BYIESS' {Hm J AT A QRXEY Patented May 30, 1972 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 INVENTOR.

- MARTIN F. OLSEN BY MG ATTORNEY EMERGENCY GANGWAY FOR RAILROAD CARS This invention relates to an emergency gangway for use on railroad cars and subways.

More specifically, this invention relates to a portable gangway having collapsible railings which fold into recesses within the gangway so that the gangway may be utilized as a door within the railroad car.

In emergency situations, where trains or subways break down within tunnels or other areas where it is difficult for passengers to leave the railroad car, ladders or gangways must be provided to permit the passengers to safely leave the disabled cars. Most railroad passenger carrying cars are not provided with gangways or escape ladders so that the passengers are forced to wait for rescue personnel to bring such equipment. In certain types of breakdowns, there has been fire or smoke necessitating the quick removal of passengers from the railroad cars. Escape from railroad cars becomes particularly difficult in tunnels where the cars are confined between tunnel walls and there is very little ventilation. In the case of subway cars, adjacent sets of tracks are spaced apart so that the cars pass within a few feet of one another. It is thus possible to utilize a second train on an adjacent track to evacuate passengers from a disabled train on a first track. In this particular case, the trains would be positioned side-by-side so that their exit doors are aligned, and the gangway can then be placed across both exit doors to permit passengers to leave the disabled train and enter the working train. After the gangplanks are removed from across the doors, the working train can then evacuate the passengers.

In a similar manner, the gangplank can be used to evacuate passengers onto an adjacent catwalk in a tunnel, which leads to an exit to the street.

In the present invention, the gangway is provided at a compartment door and includes collapsible side rails which fold into recesses in the body of the door. The door includes demountable hinges permitting it to beeasily removed after it has been opened, and erected between the exit door of the disabled train to either a catwalk or another exit door of an adjoining train.

It is therefore an object according to the present invention to provide a portable gangplank having collapsible railings which can be demountably attached to a railroad car to serve as a door.

It is another object according to the present invention to provide a portable gangway which is simple in design, inexpensive in cost, and reliable in operation.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose the embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the gangway according to the invention',

FIG. 2 is a front view of the gangway of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along section 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along section 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through two railroad cars on adjacent tracks showing the application of the gangway of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross'sectional top view of the rail coupling of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the coupling of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, there is shown gangway 10 in the form of a flat door having a pair of hinges 11 which permit the demountable detachment to corresponding hinges within the railroad car. On one surface of gangway 10 are provided elongated recesses 17, 18, 19 and 20 which are adapted to receive railings 13, 14, 15 and 16 pivotably disposed on each side of gangway 10. The lower ends of vertical braces 13 and 14 are connected together by means of axles 23 which are pivotably mounted within the body of the door. Hand rails 15 are pivotably connected by means of pivots 24 to vertical braces 13, and hand rails 16 are pivotably connected by means of pivots 24 to vertical braces 14. Hand rails 15 and 16 are coupled together by means of coupling 29 after the hand rails and vertical braces are raised into place from slots 17-20. Gangway 10 is constructed in the form of a door so that its inside surface 21 contains recesses 17-20 and hand rails 15 and 16. Thus, when the door is closed, recesses 17-20 and hand rails 15 and 16 are out of sight. The inside surface of the door can also include a non-skid surface material 40 which will prevent exiting passengers from slipping as they leave a disabled car under emergency conditions.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown two possible applications of the gangway. In one application, gangway 10 is disposed between the exit doors of adjacent railroad cars so that passengers can be transferred from a disabled train to an operating train. In another instance, the gangway can be used to span the distance between the exit door and a catwalk 31, where passengers can then walk to a safe and convenient street exit.

Referring to FIG. 6 and 7, there are shown detailed views of coupling 29 used to demountably join railings 15 and 16. Coupling 29 consists of a cylindrical coupling sleeve which is adapted to threadably engage the end of bolt 33. Coupling sleeve 29 is slidably coupled to the end of bolt 32 and includes a compression washer 35 preferably of rubber or other compressible material. Bolt 33 is pivotably coupled by means of axle 36 to the end of railing 16. The end of railing 16 terminates in a fork having aligned apertures 39 for pivotably retaining axle 36. Apertures 39 are communicative to a keyway or slot 40 extending away from the forked end of railing 16. In a similar manner, bolt 32 is pivotably coupled by means of axle 37 to the forked end of railing 15. The forked end of railing 15 includes aligned apertures 38 for pivotably supporting axle 37 and also includes keyways or slots 41 communicative with apertures 38 extending away from the forked end of railing l5. Axles 37 and 36 are rigidly affixed to bolts 32 and 33 respectively and are preferably rectangular in crosssection having rounded edges for pivotable movement in apertures 38 and 39. Keywaysor slots 40 and 41 have a width slightly larger than the width of axles 36 and 37, so that when bolts 32 and 33 are raised parallel with respect to railings 15 and 16 coupling sleeve 29 is threadably engaged to the threaded end of bolt 33, axles 36 and 37 will slide into keyways or slots 40 and 41 in order to maintain railings 15 and 16 directed toward each other and prevent their sagging when vertical pressure is applied. Railings l5 and 16 are also urged toward each other in compression as a result of the pressure exerted by heels 45 which are affixed to the vertical rails 13 and 14 and engage the surface 21 of gangway 10.

While only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A gangway for demountable coupling to a railway vehicle comprising:

a door having a plurality of longitudinally extending slots formed in one surface adjacent to its longitudinal edges thereof,

a pair of vertical braces having their ends pivoted in said slots adjacent to each end of said door,

a hand rail pivotably coupled to the opposite end of each of said vertical braces, and

coupling means formed on the opposite ends of said hand rails to enable joining of the ends of said rails and to permit said rails and vertical braces to be raised from a flat folded position within said slots to form hand railings on the gangway.

2. The gangway as recited in claim 1, wherein said door additionally comprises demountable hinge means secured along one edge of said door to permit said door to be lifted out of engagement with the railway vehicle.

3. The gangway as recited in claim 2, wherein said coupling means comprises a coupling sleeve slidably engaged to one end of one pair of said hand rails, said sleeve including an internal thread, and a threaded bolt coupled to opposite engaging ends of the other hand rails so that said hand rails can be threadably coupled by engaging said sleeve to said bolt after they are erected.

4. The gangway as recited in claim 2, wherein said coupling means further comprises a fork formed on the engaging ends of each of said railings and including axial apertures formed adjacent to the ends of each of said forks, an axle having a rectangular cross-section pivotably secured in the apertures between said forked ends, a rectangular keyway communicative with each of said apertures and extending away from the ends of said forks, said keyways having a width slightly larger than the width of said axles so that said axles will slidably engage said keyways,

a bolt connected at right angles to each of said axles, one of said bolts being slidably coupled to a coupling sleeve including an internal thread, and the other bolt being provided with a threaded portion for engaging the thread of said coupling sleeve so that said bolts will be retained parallel with respect to said hand rails when said axles are engaged in said keyways.

5. The gangway as recited in claim 4 further comprising rigid heel members affixed to said vertical braces for urging the hand railings together in compression and thereby maintaining a rigid upright position thereof. 

1. A gangway for demountable coupling to a railway vehicle comprising: a door having a plurality of longitudinally extending slots formed in one surface adjacent to its longitudinal edges thereof, a pair of vertical braces having their ends pivoted in said slots adjacent to each end of said door, a hand rail pivotably coupled to the opposite end of each of said vertical braces, and coupling means formed on the opposite ends of said hand rails to enable joining of the ends of said rails and to permit said rails and vertical braces to be raised from a flat folded position within said slots to form hand railings on the gangway.
 2. The gangway as recited in claim 1, wherein said door additionally comprises demountable hinge means secured along one edge of said door to permit said door to be lifted out of engagement with the railway vehicle.
 3. The gangway as recited in claim 2, wherein said coupling means comprises a coupling sleeve slidably engaged to one end of one pair of said hand rails, said sleeve including an internal thread, and a threaded bolt coupled to opposite engaging ends of the other hand rails so that said hand rails can be threadably coupled by engaging said sleeve to said bolt after they are erected.
 4. The gangway as recited in claim 2, wherein said coupling means further comprises a fork formed on the engaging ends of each of said railings and including axial apertures formed adjacent to the ends of each of said forks, an axle having a rectangular cross-section pivotably secured in the apertures between said forked ends, a rectangular keyway communicative with each of said apertures and extending away from the ends of said forks, said keyways having a width slightly larger than the width of said axles so that said axles will slidably engage said keyways, a bolt connected at right angles to each of said axles, one of said bolts being slidably coupled to a coupling sleeve including an internal thread, and the other bolt being provided with a threaded portion for engaging the thread of said coupling sleeve so that said bolts will be retained parallel with respect to said hand rails when said axles are engaged in said keyways.
 5. The gangway as recited in claim 4 further comprising rigid heel members affixed to said vertical braces for urging the hand railings together in compression and thereby maintaining a rigid upright position thereof. 